Incubator



1 25, 1930. w. R. GASKILL INCUBATOR Filed Nov. '3 1924 5 Sheets-sheet 15 add I N 1.930. w. R. GASKILL I 2,5

INCUBATOR Filed Nov. 3. 1924 5 Sheets-Shoot 4 Nov. 25, 1930.

w. R. GASKILL INCUBATOR Filed Nov. 5 192 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Nov.25, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WILLIAM GASKILL, OF F RENCHTOWN,NEW JERSEY, ABSIGNPR TO RICHARD 'W.

KERR, OF FRENCHTOWN, NEW JERSEY Application filed November 3, 1924.Serial No. 747,681.

p This invention relates to incubators for' hatching eggs, and theprincipal object of the invention is to provide a compact incubator ofrelatively large capacity and excep- 5 tionally high efliciency inoperation.

Another object of the invention is to provide an incubator provided withnovel means for obtaining and controlling a forced circulation of airtherethrough.

A further object of the invention is to provide an incubator havingforced circulation, said circulation being obtained by means of suitableapparatus-creating a suction in one part of the incubator tending todraw heated and humidified air into the incubator at another point,saidpoints of exit and'entry being so located with respect to each other andthe various parts of the incubator as to effect a desirable circulationthroughout the interior.

The invention further contemplates the provision of an incubator soconstructed that 1t may be built in either single or multiple units ofany desired capacity, the invention in its essential features beingadapted to the construction of incubators either operated from theoutside or having a central aisle or corridor in the interior from whichan operator may have access to the stacks of eggcontaining trays.

Incubators'oftwo diiferent types embodying my invention I haveillustrated in the attached drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a view in perspective of one form of incubator;

Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the incubator;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on the line 3-3, Fig. 2; l p

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 44, Figv 2;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary detached perspective artly in section of theinner distributin c amber;

ig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional perspective illustrating the details ofconstruction;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary pers ective showing a part of one of the rac-supporting standards having air ports for distribution of thecirculated air;

Fig. 8 is an enlargement of one of the lower corners of the incubator asillustrated in Fig. 2; I

ig. 9 is a fragmentary perspective of one of the elements shown in Fig.8

Fig; 10 is a fragmentary horizontal section of one of the verticalcorners of the incubator enlarged to illustrate details of theconstruction, and

Fig. 11 is a horizontal section of a modified form of incubator.

With reference to the drawings, and particularly to Figs. 1 to 10,inclusive, my incubator may comprise a chamber 1 of an size dependingupon the capacity require This chamber 1 is preferably rectangular inshape and is provided at one or both sides with a door 2 giving accessto the interior.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 4, the walls 3 and floor 4 are of'doublethickness provid ing an air space, while the top of the chamber is soformed as to form two horizontal main chambers 5 and 6.

Between the ceiling 7 and the floor 8 of the chamber extend,longitudinally of the chamber, two series of uprights 9, 9, and 10, 10,to which, as shown in Fig. 6, are secured the slides or tray supports11, 11, these supports in the present instance consisting of angle bars.The standards 9 and 10 with their respective slides or supports 11constitute the rac s which support the egg trays in stacks, there beingin the incubator illustrated provision for six stacks of trays, three oneach side, as best shown in Fig. 4, with an intermediate corridor 13, atone end of which is the door 2.

As illustrated in Fig. 6, the sides and back of each rack may be linedwithnetting or similar material to prevent the hatched chicks fromfalling from the trays. The latter, as will be apparent, are inserted inthe racks from the corridor side, and provision is also made, as forexample by detachable sections of netting not shown, for closing thefront ends of the tray to prevent escape ofthe chicks from that side.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the top wall 14 of the chamber is providedwith two quadruple rows of apertures 15, 15, which extend respectivelyover the two sets of racks, these apertures being preferably so arrangedthat they uniformly cover the areas under which the said trays arelocated. Within the outer chamber 5 of the top of the chamber is locatedtwo sets of pipe coils 16, 16, the coils extending the full length ofthe chamber directly under the sets of apertures 15, 15. These coilsconstitute artificial means for maintaining the incubator at the desiredtemperatures, and may be connected to a boiler, not shown, by pipes 17and 18 entering the chamber 5 through an end wall.

Also within the chamber 5 and between the coils 16, 16, space isprovided overlying the corridor 13 for a moisture pan 19 by means ofwhich a proper amount of moisture may .be introduced into the airentering the incu hating chamber. The pan 19 may be supplied from a pipe21 entering the chamber through an end wall and being connected to theboiler,the open end of this pipe being lo cated above the pan so thatthe latter may receive the condensed portion of the vapor introducedthrough the pi e 21. An overflow pipe 22 is provided in tie pan toprevent flooding. I

As previously stated. a second chamber 6 is provided at the top of thechamber 1, this chamber 6 being divided longitudinally of the chamber bya central partition 23 extending the full length of the incubator andforming two sub-chambers 24. The chamber 5 communicates with each ofthese sub-chambers 24, 24, through a slot 25 underlying each of thecoils 16, 16, and each of the sub-chambers 24 is preferably sub-dividedby a series of transverse partitions 26 into a number of independentcompartments each having access to the incubating chamber through aseries of ports 27. In this manner, it will be noted that the chamber 6is subdivided into a comparatively lar e number of independentcompartments uni orlnly connected with the chamber 5 through the slots25; and the ports 27 may be so arranged as to number and size as todistribute the air entering the incubating chamber in a manner mostfavorable for incubation purposes.

To further assist in giving a proper circulation, I may make thestandards 9 and 10 hollow, and-may provide ports 28 in the ceiling ofthe main chamber 13 which communicate with the upper ends of thesehollow standards. The standards may then be provided with ports 29 atpoints intermediate the top and bottom. In the present instance, I haveshown only the inner rows of the standards 9 and 10, or those adjacentthe corridor 13, so perforated and connected with the chamber 6, and inthe present instance I have shown the ports 29 located near the bottomof the standards for reasons hereinafter set forth.

The floor 8 of the incubator I provide with series of perforations 31and 32 underlying the racks on either side of the chamber. It will beunderstood, however, that as to the arrangement of the various intakeand outlet ports, I am not restricted to my present showing, as theirposition may be largely modified without departing from the essentialfeatures of the invention.

The ports 31 and 32 open into the space between the floor 8 and thebottom of the incubator, and at the sides this space or chamber 33communicates with a series of pipes or ducts 34 which extend upwardlythrough the hollow side walls of the incubator, and, projecting abovethe top thereof, connect with manifolds 35, 35, which latter as shown inFig. 1, connect at the front of the incubator, in the present instance,with a suitable fan or blower 36. The pipes 34 at each side of theincubator are uniformly dis tributed in rows extending the completelength of the incubator, and the space 33' as well as the space betweenthe side walls is preferably divided by the floor beams 37 and uprights38 into a series of independent chambers, each one of which communicateswith a predetermined number of the pipes 34, the space also beingsub-divided by a central transverse beam 40 in a manner similar to thesub-chamber 6.

The double walls of the incubator I may form of any material, and I havefound for this purpose the well known composition or wall boardextremely satisfactory. In using this material, it is desirable toprovide ample room for expansion of the board under relatively greatchanges of temperature. I have accordingly so constructed the incubatorthat the walls are not positively secured by nails or the like, but arefree to expand and contract.

With reference to Figs. 3, 4 and 10, it will be noted that at eachcorner of the incubator I provide an upright 41, and the outer facingsor panels 42 are held in place against these uprights by angular cornerpieces 44 which are secured to the inner uprights 41in such manner thatthe securing elements do not.

pass through the panels 42. This may be done for example, as shown inFig. 10, by passing screws or other securing elements through the angle44 into the upright 41 at points near the corner. A similar device maybe employed on the inside by using a corner piece 45 which may besecured to the uprights 41 by screws or other elements 46 passed throughthe center in such manner as to avoid the ends of the inner panels 43.

The outer Walls 42 at the bottom may be confined by a molding strip 47,as shown in Fig. 8, the joint being made tight by means of a gasket orstrip of felt or like material 48. In this manner, the panel ispermitted to expand in a vertical direction. All the joints of theincubator may be provided with a gasket similar to that described, ifdesired.

The side pieces 49 of the'floor frame, as shown in Figs. 2, 8 and 9, arerecessed or channeled beneath each of the ducts 34, as indicated at 51,so that the air will have an unrestricted entry into said ducts. Theserecesses permit the use of a full width beam at the sides for strength.

The operation of the incubator is as fol} lows:

The fan 36, which may be driven by an electric motor, or by any othersuitable power. means (not shown) draws air from the manifolds 35, andthereby tends to evacuate the interior of the incubator. As a result,air is drawn through the apertures 15 at the top into the chamber 5, andthrough the coils 16 to the slits 25, the air in its passage through thechamber 5 being properly humidified from the moisture in the pan 19 andfrom the vapor introduced through the pipe 21. From the chamber 5, theair passes through the slits 25 into the compartments of the chamber 6,and thence through the apertures 27 and through the hollow innerstandards 9 and 10 into' the incubating chamber. The apertures 27 andthe outlet apertures 31 in the floor are so located that the air isdrawn down over and around the stacks of eggs. From the chamber 33 belowthe floor, the air passes through the pipes 34 to the manifolds 35 atthe top and is ejected by the fan.

The air drawn through the standards 9 and 10 and from the standardsthrough the apertures 29 has a tendency to create a circulation of airin the corridor 13 and to prevent stagnation in that part. This air hasa tendency to circulate upwardly through the corridor and back into thenormal air current between and around the stacks, thereby v preventingthe formation of dead areas or pockets in the corridor with resultantlack of uniformity in the temperature of the incubating chamber.

Under some circumstances, I have found it desirable to make the exhaustports of the constant temperature in the incubating cham- It willfurther be apparent that the con-. struction as described may be easilymodified to meet any conditions under whlch the incubator may be usedand to regulate the circulation as desired.

In Fig. 11, I have illustrated a modification in which access to the eggtrays may be had from outside the mcubatin chamber.

In this instance, the central corri or is eliminated, and instead a dooris provided for each stack of eggs. The general constructioi. andoperation is identical with that previously described. The incubatorstructure in this instance comprises four doors 53 which may have thedouble construction of the walls and floor of the incubator and may beprovided with 'any suitable means such as the tapered joint 54 formaking the incubator entirely air-tight. The trays are introduced andremoved and access ma be had to the trays during the period 0 incubationby opening these doors 53.

It is obvious that there may be further modifications without departurefrom the essential features of the invention.

I claim:

In an incubator, the combination of an incubating chamber, of aplurality of traysupporting standards within said chamber, at least oneof said standards being hollow, a port communicating with the top ofsaid hollow standard, ports in said standard at a point; below the top,and means for creatin a circulation of air through the standar and outof said ports into the said chamber.

WILLIAM R. GASKILL.

incubator generally of greater capacity than the intake ports wherebythere is a tendency to maintain the interior of the incubator at apressure slightly below atmospheric.

J Exceedingly good results have been obtained by the use of the downdraft and by obtaining circulation through suction rather than byforcing the air into the incubator. The suction while affording as greatan air volume as obtainable by driving the air into the incubator, givesa materially greater evenness and uniformity of circulation, and thecirculation is by this means more easily controlled. Furthermore,passing the air up through the side walls of the incubator after itleaves the incubating chamber utilizes to a maximum extent the heat ofthe air and makes it possible to maintain a practically

